Branding Implications
This research has several implications for branding. First, it directly acknowledges the social nature of brands. It attempts to move thinking away from the traditional consumer‐brand dyad to the consumer‐brand‐consumer triad. It argues that brands are social objects and socially constructed. It asserts that consumers are actively involved in that creation. It further shows that brand community clearly affects brand equity. Aaker (1991) conceptualizes brand equity as having four components: perceived quality, brand loyalty, brand awareness, and brand associations (Aaker 1991; Keller 1993). Brand communities directly affect all four of these components and are consistent with the trend toward broadening definitions of consumer brand loyalty in general (Fournier 1998; Fournier and Yao 1997; Lutz 1987; McAlexander and Schouten 1998; Olsen 1993; Sherry 1998). These new conceptualizations include more behaviors than mere repurchase; they widen the relationship with the brand to include the role of other consumers, including community (Cross and Smith 1995). In this way, developing a strong brand community could be a critical step in truly actualizing the concept of relationship marketing. A strong brand community can lead to a socially embedded and entrenched loyalty, brand commitment (Jacoby and Chestnut 1978; Keller 1998), and even hyper‐loyalty (McAlexander and Schouten 1998). Brand communities are collections of what Gruen and Ferguson call “active loyalists,” users of a brand who are “committed, conscientious—almost passionate” (1994, p. 3) about the brand. As such, they may be good places to look for lead users of the brand (Von Hipple 1986). But most important to remember is the fact that they are connected to other consumers through the benefit of community.